Arsenal have completed their first sale of the summer, as manager Mikel Arteta looks to rebuild ahead of next season.
The Gunners came close in three competitions this season, finishing second in the Premier League and reaching the semi-finals of both the Champions League and the League Cup – but still, Arteta is searching for his first silverware since his debut campaign in 2019/20.
With Arsenal looking to improve the overall quality at the Basque boss’s disposal this summer, however, this will also be an intriguing window of exits.
Arsenal have sold one star, with four more to leave
After Arteta confirmed that at least four players would be leaving in the coming weeks, several Gunners stars have been linked with exits, too, as the club looks to raise capital for big buys.
The Athletic, for example, has confirmed this morning that the futures of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli will be in sharp focus this summer as a new wide forward arriving at the Emirates Stadium hinges on the exit of one of the pair.
Now, Radio Sei in Italy have relayed a report from publication Il Messaggero that Arsenal have already agreed the sale of Nuno Tavares to Lazio.
Despite talk among some fans of the Gunners needing an overlapping left-back to complement Ben White on the other flank, the Rome-based outfit had a €5 million option in the loan agreement to keep the full-back in the Eternal City, which now appears to have been triggered.
Lazio president Claudio Lotito has been effusive in his praise for Tavares, claiming earlier this season that he values the star north of €70m – and while Arsenal will obviously not be receiving anything near that figure for a fringe star, FourFourTwo understands that a decent sell-on fee has been inserted in the deal.
Arsenal stand to get 20 per cent of any fee that Lazio agree to sell Tavares for: so if Lotito really does want to sell him for €70m – as unlikely as that may be – the Gunners can expect €14m of the cut.
According to the BBC, the Portuguese only joined the north Londoners for £8m, meaning that Arsenal haven’t made a huge loss on Tavares.
The 25-year-old is worth €25m, as per Transfermarkt.
